This DACA student is attending Cumberland University. Meet the Republican who helped make it happen.

Andrea Chavez is a DACA student going to school because of Republican scholarships
Nashville Tennessean

Buy Photo

Andrea Chavez is a DACA student who is going to Cumberland University thanks to a scholarship from Equal Chance for Education, a nonprift created by a Republican doctor. The nonprofit is looking to try and send as many DACA students to college as possible and 213 DACA students have scholarships through them.
Thursday July 19, 2018, in Lebanon, Tenn.
(Photo: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)Buy Photo

It was difficult for Andrea Chavez, 19, to believe any Republican cared about her struggles after President Donald Trump was elected.

His hardline stance on immigration meant an uncertain future for Chavez, a Mexican immigrant who has Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, a program which is on the verge of ending and faces a federal court battle. Chavez has lived in the United States since she was 3 years old.

But there are some advocating for a solution to replace DACA and who want to give her an opportunity, like Michael Spalding, a Nashville doctor and philanthropist.

“I was really surprised that he was going to help us,” Chavez said of Spalding, who is a Republican and founder of Equal Chance for Education. “He was really welcoming, listened to us and asked about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go to college.”

Although the issue of immigration is an increasingly polarizing political issue, support for the DACA program, which ensures young immigrants who entered the country illegally as children can access college and a job, remains high among both Democrats and Republicans.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Buy Photo

Protesters march in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the White House would in six months end the program.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Supporters of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals march from Centennial Park to the offices of Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Nashville.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Lizeth Luna wipes away tears as she shares her fears after the Trump administration said it would rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during a protest at the offices of Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Nashville.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Evelin Salgado wipes away tears as she shares her fears she has after the Trump administration has said it would rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act during a protest at Senators Lamar Alexander's and Bob Corker's offices Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Arturo Luna and his son Caleb Luna, 11 months, participate in a protest outside the offices of Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Nashville.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Protesters march in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Tuesday, Sept. 5 after President Donald Trump announced plans to end the program.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Protesters march in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Tuesday, Sept. 5 after President Donald Trump announced plans to end the program.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Protesters march in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the White House would in six months end the program.
Joe Buglewicz / For The Tennessean

Alejandra Ramos marches in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Tuesday, Sept. 5 after President Donald Trump announced plans to end the program.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Alejandra Ramos marches in Nashville in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, after President Donald Trump announced plans to end the program.
George Walker IV / The Tennessean

A protestor demonstrates outside Music City Center where Vice President Mike Pence headlined an annual Republican fundraiser on Thursday, August 3, 2017, in Nashville Tenn. The protestors included youth who support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the Dream Act of 2017, which help protect undocumented youth from being deported.
Mark Zaleski/For the Tennessean

September 04, 2017 - Dayana Parada drops a symbolic dream into a casket during a gathering outside of the Clifford Davis Federal Building in downtown Memphis to support the continuation of DACA, which gives young immigrants work permits, allowing them to avoid deportation. The casket was used to symbolize the dreams that will be buried if DACA is killed.
Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal

September 04, 2017 - Supporters of DACA gathered outside of the Clifford Davis Federal Building in downtown Memphis to support the continuation of DACA, which gives young immigrants work permits, allowing them to avoid deportation.
Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

The U.S. Supreme Court could take up the case, possibly as soon as October, according to Mark Delich, FWD.US congressional affairs director. FWD.US is a lobbying group that seeks to mobilize the tech community around certain policy issues, including DACA.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam has continually expressed support in providing in-state tuition for young adults who live in the U.S. illegally and were brought to the United States at a young age. But in-state tuition has only come close to passage once, in 2015.

A measure this year that would have granted in-state tuition to students such as Chavez died in committee.

The leading GOP candidates for governor in the Aug. 2 primary all oppose in-state tuition for these students. The two leading Democrats in the race support the effort.

Scholarships for DACA students in Tennessee

Meanwhile, Spalding's organization is stepping up to provide DACA recipients resources they need to attend college.

Equal Chance for Education helps Tennessee DACA students head to college through scholarships, given the state doesn't grant students like Chavez in-state tuition and the cost is high and often unaffordable.

It's become the second largest scholarship fund nationally for DACA students.

Buy Photo

Andrea Chavez, left, walks across Cumberland University campus with fellow sophomore Heidi Estrada.
Chavez is a DACA student who is going to school thanks to a scholarship from Equal Chance for Education, a nonprift created by a Republican doctor. The nonprofit is looking to try and send as many DACA students to college as possible and 213 DACA students have scholarships through them.
Thursday July 19, 2018, in Lebanon, Tenn.
(Photo: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)

The organization afforded her the ability to attend Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., Chavez said, where she is a sophomore.

Spalding's organization has provided scholarships to 218 students statewide. Their average GPA is 3.43, he said, and 11 of the 18 that have graduated from the scholarship program graduated with honors.

"We are a country of immigrants and that is what makes America great," he said. "This is not a political thing, this is a moral thing. This isn't about being Republican or Democrat, it is about people's lives."